Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / Gonzalo Arroyo - FIFA / Contributor / Getty
PlayStation 5 owners in the UK may receive up to £500 in compensation on the back of a $7.9 billion lawsuit.
Alex Neill, a consumer advocate, has stepped forward on behalf of 8.9 million UK users of PlayStation, filing a lawsuit against Sony's monopoly of the digital store.
Neill alleges that the marked-up prices on the PlayStation Store between 2016 and 2022 were an abuse of Sony's dominant position in the gaming market.
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When Neill first announced the lawsuit last year, she said: 'The actions of Sony is costing millions of people who can't afford it, particularly when we're in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer purse is being squeezed like never before.'
She claims that games are becoming more about 'spending as much money as possible (including children).'
The lawsuit claims that the tech corporation deliberately inflated prices for digital games and content prices on its PS Store. Sony required digital games and DLC add-ons to be bought and sold only via the PlayStation Store, which also charges a 30% commission to developers and publishers.
Whilst Sony has dismissed the claim as 'flawed from start to finish', it may need to defend itself if the case ends up going to court.
The objective of the lawsuit is to deliver compensation to PlayStation 5 owners who bought digital content between 2016 and 2022, with a cap of £500.
The amount owners will receive will depend on how much they've spent on the PS Store during that period.
The consumer champion's claim has been spreading like wildfire and has been compiled its information and updates into a website called PlayStation You Owe Us.
Her site reads: 'In the UK, it is illegal for companies to abuse their dominant position.
'This includes directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions.
'We believe that PlayStation occupies a dominant position in relation to the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content and that it has been unfairly charging its UK customers too much for digital games and in-game content purchased through the PlayStation Store.'
PS5 owners don't have to do anything at this stage. However, they are welcome to read more information on the lawsuit or find out whether they are in the 'class of claimants' on Neill's website.
